A coating apparatus includes a holding rotator that holds and rotates a substrate, and a coating nozzle that dispenses a coating liquid such as a photoresist (hereinunder, referred to as a “resist”) to the substrate held with the holding rotator. The coating apparatus causes the coating nozzle to dispense the coating liquid to the substrate, and causes the holding rotator to rotate the substrate. Rotating the substrate leads to spread of the coating liquid on the substrate, yielding formation of a liquid film (coating liquid film) on the substrate. See, for example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2.
During coating with such a coating apparatus mentioned above, gas is blown. For instance, Patent Literature 1 discloses an edge rinse method of dispensing a solvent to a resist film at a periphery edge of a substrate to dissolve the resist film and scattering the dissolved resist film out of the substrate through an air-blowing device. Patent Literature 2 discloses the feature of performing edge rinse to a periphery edge of a wafer having a thin film formed thereon, and thereafter, blowing an N2 gas to the periphery edge of the wafer for achieving planarization of a raised portion of a periphery edge of the thin film caused by edge rinse.
Moreover, Patent Literature 3 discloses an edge rinse method of blowing gas to an edge of a substrate having an undried coating film formed thereon for promoting a drying treatment. In such a method, gas is blown after formation of the coating film, and a portion of the substrate other than the edge thereof is kept undried even after the gas is blown. Patent Literature 4 discloses a method of supplying a solvent to a substrate, dispensing a coating liquid on a film of the solvent in an inkjet manner, and finally blowing gas on an uneven surface of the coating liquid for yielding planarization of the surface of the coating liquid.